More bad news may be looming on the horizon regarding the number of unemployed veterans in this country. This week the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) will release its annual Veterans’ Unemployment Summary. In 2009, BLS found that 21.1 percent of veterans ages 18-24 were unemployed, higher than non-veterans of the same age. The same statistics reveal female veterans were unemployed at the rate of 13.5 percent, almost twice that of female non-veterans. The only other cohort group in our society facing these levels of unemployment is high school dropouts.

No, your calendar is set correctly — today is not Veterans’ Day or the Fourth of July — it is indeed March. So why bring these startling facts to your attention? As Americans, we must begin to first acknowledge our veterans are struggling to transition in to this bleak job market at home and second, we must work together to create more solutions to make their lives and their families’ lives easier. Suicide and homelessness among recent returning veterans are rising at alarming rates. Our service members make enormous sacrifices to ensure our freedom and security. The right thing to do is ensure they receive the proper attention for job training and career placement after their return.

Unfortunately, too many of our service members are coming home to a beleaguered economy that holds little hope for career placement. They must also deal with the stigma associated with “signature” wounds of our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. They face a complex array of federal services and institutions that they are expected to navigate to receive their due benefits, all while trying to readjust to home with loved ones who have been growing and developing both personally and professionally. Make no mistake, the path for successful integration is a difficult road to navigate.

Our nation’s leaders, including President Obama and Chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mullen, have ardently addressed this national and complex dilemma in front of business, military and community audiences. Admiral Mullen has emphasized that there is a “Sea of Goodwill” in society for retuning service members and their families, but that support must be linked around common objectives aimed at what he calls the “Reintegration Trinity” for veterans – envisioned as a triangle with the three sides representing: 1) access to health care for life, 2) education, and 3) employment. The successful integration and application of these three components will ensure a seamless transition back into society and improved quality of life for veterans and their families.

The solution to successful integration of veterans and their families is partnership and funding support amongst the many organizations seeking to help them – businesses, government, educational institutions, professional organizations, veterans’ services organizations, and non-profits.

For example, Activision Blizzard started The Call of Duty Endowment in October of 2009 to raise awareness about the astonishing number of unemployed veterans and support those organizations that are in the field working with former service members to help them start their next career. With the support of a successful corporation, and the devotion of Activision’s CEO Bobby Kotick, to keep the issue on the public’s radar, the Endowment is raising millions of dollars to help combat the issue. Those dollars can allow innovative programs like Veterans Green Jobs, a national non-profit headquartered in Denver, to flourish, and allow more of our heroes to gain the tools, training and resources needed to secure a lasting career track.

The responsibility to honor our heroes upon their return must be shared by everyone: the employers, the employees that can encourage their boss to hire them and local and state governments that can provide incentives to hire our veterans. The fact is our veterans are likely to be among the best employees an employer could ever hire. These men and women return with valuable technical skills, leadership experiences, and a sense of mission and teamwork that can be repurposed into our economy and society. They simply need an opportunity to show those qualities in the workforce. Do your part and find out ways you can help our returning service members transition smoothly in to civilian life. They deserve nothing less.

LTC William W “Bill” Doe III (USA-Ret), Ph.D. is the Chief Executive Officer of Veterans Green Jobs, a national, Denver based non-profit connecting military veterans to employment opportunities that serve both the community and environment.

Bill Doe is CEO of Veterans Green Jobs. BG James “Spider” Marks (USA-Ret.) is an advisory board member to Activision’s Call of Duty Endowment and CEO to InVisM, a Denver based firm that develops simulation products for global education and training markets. EDITOR’S NOTE: This is an online-only column and has not been edited.

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